The Raspberry Pi 500 and Raspberry Pi Monitor Goes On Sale

[TheLostSwede]

Just in time for Christmas, we're delighted to announce the release of two hotly anticipated products that we think will look great under the tree. One of them might even fit in a stocking if you push hard enough. Introducing Raspberry Pi 500, available now at $90, and the Raspberry Pi Monitor, on sale at $100: together, they're your complete Raspberry Pi desktop setup.

Integral calculus
Our original mission at Raspberry Pi was to put affordable, programmable personal computers in the hands of young people all over the world. And while we've taken some detours along the way - becoming one of the world's largest manufacturers of industrial and embedded computers - this mission remains at the heart of almost everything we do. It drives us to make lower-cost products like the $15 Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, and more powerful products, like our flagship Raspberry Pi 5 SBC. These products provide just the essential processing element of a computer, which can be combined with the family television, and second-hand peripherals, to build a complete and cost-effective system.




But over time we have come to understand the benefits of integration: some people are better served by a system that is ready to use straight out of the box. This need was dramatized during the early days of the COVID pandemic, when we worked with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to deliver thousands of Raspberry Pi 4 Desktop Kits and monitors to young people studying from home in the UK. Our experiences with that programme informed the development of Raspberry Pi 400, our all-in-one PC, whose form factor (and name) harks back to the great 8-bit and 16-bit computers - the BBC Micro, Sinclair Spectrum, and Commodore Amiga - of the 1980s and 1990s.

Meet Raspberry Pi 500
In the four years since it launched, Raspberry Pi 400 has become a hugely popular choice for enthusiasts and educators. And today, we're launching its successor, Raspberry Pi 500, bringing the features and performance of the Raspberry Pi 5 platform to our all-in-one form factor:

• 2.4 GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 processor
• 8 GB LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM
• VideoCore VII GPU, supporting OpenGL ES 3.1 and Vulkan 1.3
• Dual 4Kp60 HDMI display output
• Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0
• 2 × USB 3.0 ports, supporting simultaneous 5 Gbps operation
• 1 × USB 2.0 port
• Gigabit Ethernet port
• Horizontal 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO connector

Raspberry Pi 500 is priced at $90, including a 32 GB Raspberry Pi-branded SD card, and is also available in a $120 Desktop Kit, which adds:

• Raspberry Pi Mouse
• Raspberry Pi 27 W USB-C Power Supply
• 2 m micro HDMI to HDMI cable
• Raspberry Pi Beginner's Guide, 5th Edition

The vision thing - an official Raspberry Pi Monitor
Although it's highly integrated, Raspberry Pi 500 is only half the story: to build a complete system, you still need a display device. Which is why we're also launching the Raspberry Pi Monitor, available now at $100. Designed to coordinate perfectly with your Raspberry Pi 500 or cased Raspberry Pi 5, it incorporates a 15.6" full HD IPS panel with a 45% colour gamut and an 80° viewing angle, together with a pair of 1.2 W speakers, in a slender enclosure with a fold-away integrated stand and VESA mounting points.

Power is provided via a USB-C connector. Cost-conscious users can power the monitor directly from their Raspberry Pi via the included USB-A to USB-C cable; in this mode display brightness is limited to 60% of maximum (still quite bright!) and volume to 50% of maximum (still quite loud!). Using a dedicated USB-C supply capable of delivering 5 V/3 A, like the Raspberry Pi 15 W USB-C Power Supply, enables the full brightness and volume ranges.

Faster, better, cheaper: pick two Raspberry Pi 400 price cuts
While we're incredibly excited about Raspberry Pi 500, we need to remember that cost remains a barrier to access for many people, young and old. So we're also taking this opportunity to cut the price of Raspberry Pi 400 from $70 to $60, and the Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit from $100 to $80. We're also bundling a Raspberry Pi-branded SD card with every Raspberry Pi 400, to help you get the best possible performance out of the system.

We know that quite a few of you have been eagerly awaiting both of our new products, and we hope you enjoy them now they're here. We've seen Raspberry Pi 400 everywhere from retro gaming setups to university exam facilities and hospital offices; we're really looking forward to finding out where Raspberry Pi 500 and our new Raspberry Pi Monitor end up.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[lexluthermiester]

There have been a few reviews which are very interesting, here's Jeff Geerling's;

On Jeff's second channel he does a tear-down;

I think this is a very solid computer to have for entry level PC's.

I agree with him about the NVMe slot, they should have included one. I also would like to have seen a 16GB version.

 

[Neo_Morpheus]

I wish that the Pi foundation created a Pro tier, with more powerful SOCs, proper NVME/PCIe with at least 4 lanes, etc.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I wish that the Pi foundation create a Pro tier, with more powerful SOCs, proper NVME/PCIe with at least 4 lanes, etc.

They have a very extensive product lineup as it is. They likely don't want to spread themselves to thin.

 

[Neo_Morpheus]

They have a very extensive product lineup as it is. They likely don't want to spread themselves to thin.

True, but at the same time, if they have the bandwidth to keep creating accessories like SD cards, this new monitor and other things, maybe at least one Pro device would be doable.

Being able to expand their offerings is a nice problem to have.

 

[Easy Rhino]

Pi Monitor has standard HDMI port. Pi 500 has mini-HDMI port. Profit on adapters.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Profit on adapters.

Nah, cables are cheap. Would have been nice for them to include one though.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Pi Monitor has standard HDMI port. Pi 500 has mini-HDMI port. Profit on adapters.

No, the RPi foundation is using micro HDMI, not mini HDMI.

 

[Athena]

They have a very extensive product lineup as it is. They likely don't want to spread themselves to thin.

I bet the main reason is the price, once you go above a certain price point, then they would start competing with bigger players, and they don't think they could survive in that market

The mini-pc camp is very cutthroat, and super thin margins, but that is where most of the people are heading toward for much more powerful SOCs/CPUs

 

[Daven]

This is way better than that subscription, streaming Windows mini PC from Microsoft. I hope corporations say no to MS and save tons of money and move to this and Linux.

Microsoft is Introducing a $349 Mini PC That Streams Windows 11 from the Cloud | TechPowerUp

 

[maximumterror]

is it waterproof, or at least lager proof?

 

[Easy Rhino]

No, the RPi foundation is using micro HDMI, not mini HDMI.

View attachment 374987

Right but you get my point. They created a monitor WITHOUT micro hdmi...

 

[TheLostSwede]

Right but you get my point. They created a monitor WITHOUT micro hdmi...

Yeah, this seems to be fairly common for the RPi foundation, they do one thing, but not the other... I also don't understand why they couldn't incorporate full size HDMI ports on the Pi 500.

 

[trsttte]

This is cool, even the monitor, though at 100$ it's not competitive at all, there are cheaper portable monitors with the same features as well as bigger regular monitors.

Nah, cables are cheap. Would have been nice for them to include one though.

Sure, but HDMI-HDMI cables are still cheaper and much easier to find than HDMI-microHDMI. It's understandable on the regular rpi, on the keyboard version there's plenty of space, like there is in the CM carrier board.

One thing I never understood is why do they use HDMI instead of DisplayPort

Right but you get my point. They created a monitor WITHOUT micro hdmi...

That's good though, microHDMI to microHDMI cable would be even more difficult to find

 

[lexluthermiester]

I bet the main reason is the price, once you go above a certain price point, then they would start competing with bigger players, and they don't think they could survive in that market

The mini-pc camp is very cutthroat, and super thin margins, but that is where most of the people are heading toward for much more powerful SOCs/CPUs

While that's a fair point, I'd be ok with $140 for an improved version with 16GB of ram and an NVMe slot.

One thing I never understood is why do they use HDMI instead of DisplayPort

Because not all displays have DP. Almost all displays have HDMI.

Sure, but HDMI-HDMI cables are still cheaper and much easier to find than HDMI-microHDMI.

Amazon is the answer..

https://www.amazon.com/oldboytech-Adapter-Compatible-Raspberry-Capture/dp/B08C2PVP7J

$7

https://www.amazon.com/UGREEN-Adapter-Ethernet-Compatible-Raspberry/dp/B06WWQ7KLV

$9

https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Basics-Display-High-Speed-Ethernet/dp/B07KSDB25X

$9

All fair prices and good quality.